Despite the drama, Premier League has substance

Before the start of the football season, as is the case always, the chatter was all about the transfer sagas. There were players wanting to get paid more and others were handing in their transfer requests a day before the start of the season. And then there were those players who were keen to move to bigger clubs and coincidentally also suffered suspicious injuries.  The build-up to the 2017 English Premier League season showcased what most would categorise as being exactly the opposite of what the sport stood for – passion, loyalty and pride. Instead it was all about greed, fickleness and complete disregard for the fans.  It was under this ugly cloud that Arsenal and Leicester City kicked off the season. But it took just 90 minutes of actual football to show just why the Premier League is the most watched league around the globe.Arsenal went against their grain and showed lots of grit to score a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Leicester and it included a goal from the Gunners’ new striker Alexandre Lacazette — just 94 seconds into his debut. A seven-goal thriller is exactly the tonic that was needed for fans to get excited again. Great entertainment trumps over everything. The story continued the next day. On Sunday, Liverpool, who were shocked by the transfer request handed in by Philippe Coutinho, snatched a 3-3 draw from the jaws of victory against Watford. But the neutrals weren’t complaining. The opening two games of this season had already seen 13 goals. Then it was time for some comeback drama. Wayne Rooney scored a goal for Everton after spending 13 years at Manchester United. Many had criticised the ruthlessness shown by the Red Devils in pushing out their superstar and Rooney showed that he still has it. Defending champions Chelsea were in constant news before the start of the season. Be it the vehement complaining about the lack of signings by manager Antonio Conte or his standoff with striker Diego Costa. And the Blues had a horrible opening game where they were reduced to nine men and lost 3-2 to Burnley. Conte left star signing Alvaro Morata on the bench and brought him on only in 60th minute. It was the former Real Madrid striker who scored the first goal for Chelsea and provided the assist for the second. There were rumours that Conte didn’t start Morata in order to send a message to the club management as a protest for the lack of signings. Mourinho’s boys, on the other hand, scored an emphatic 4-0 win over West Ham that had many gushing over United’s prospect as title contenders. Romelu Lukaku made an instant impact in his debut match for United by scoring a brace and sending the hearts of the United fans fluttering. That United are being touted as genuine challengers for the title, despite the misgivings that people have against the team or their current manager, is a great positive for the league. After a build-up that can easily be featured in one of those boring soap operas, the opening weekend turned out to be a summer blockbuster movie, flaunting why the EPL is the most popular football league in the world.It took just one game to show just why the EPL is the most watched football league in the world